New Cuero Museum Near Opening

It's been a long, hard ride, but it's going to be well worth the wait and the hard work when the new Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum opens it's doors next year in Cuero.

The finish line is in sight for the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum. The more than 12-year journey has an anticipated completion date next year. "We expect to open in the summer of 2013. It's just about a year away," Robert Oliver, chairman of the museum's board of directors told a large crowd at the recent Taste of the Trail fundraiser on his ranch in Cheapside.

Taste of the Trail VI, held every two years, brought in about $300,000 to the museum's coffers, including more than $190,000 from the live and silent auction, Oliver said. The donations helped push the museum's Build-Out Capital Campaign to more than 60 percent of its $2.1 million goal. The build-out includes extended parking, green space and expansion of the museum's entry and gift shop area. The project will also include a display area inside the front of the museum building that can be seen from the sidewalk and from Esplanade Street. The green space behind the building is also being made possible through donors. Lawrence and Linda Anzaldua bought the property behind the museum and donated it to the museum for the project. Oliver also thanked them and other donors during his remarks at Taste of the Trail.

The museum is housed in the historic Knights of Pythias Hall, Jewel Lodge No. 103 at 302 N. Esplanade St., built about 1903. The project has included adding an annex to the building that houses the gift shop. Community meeting rooms that were part of the renovation are open and available for rental for meetings, receptions and other gatherings of various sizes.

For more information on the museum or renting the community meeting rooms, call 361-277-2866 or email executive director Beverly Hadley at Trailboss@chisholmtrailmuseum.org.